[Current Stack: 1 Mythic Chest, 6 Fragments, 2,700 Tokens, 75,000 Vita-Fragments, 1 Hydro-Core, 1 Tear, 3 Dev-Strings, 1 VIP Ledger, 1 Platinum Keycard.] [Multiplier: 1.50%] [Vault Pressure: 30%. CRITICAL: Host is experiencing localized organ failure.]
The infinite white room was dead silent, save for the wet, ragged sound of Yuto's breathing. Blood dripped from his chin, staining the pristine glass floor.
Director-General Mammon stood behind his obsidian desk, his golden, numerical eyes completely serene. Floating above him was the red Admin prism containing Rin's dormant digital soul.
"The choice is yours, Mr. Kurosawa," Mammon smiled, his voice perfectly modulated to sound reassuring. "Spend your hoard. Buy her freedom. Empty your Vault to zero, and walk away with your sister as a normal, stat-less mortal. Or keep your wealth, join my Board of Directors, and rule this server as its new Central Reserve."
Isabella gripped her twin blades so tightly her knuckles turned white. She looked at Yuto's trembling, bloody back.
He's going to spend it, she thought, her heart breaking for him. He hoarded all of this, endured all this pain, just to save her. And now Mammon is going to strip it all away and kill us the second Yuto's multiplier drops.
"How much?" Yuto rasped, not looking away from the red prism.
"Her original debt was fifty thousand," Mammon calculated effortlessly. "With three years of compound interest, she owes the Bank 1.2 million Vita-Fragments. However, since you have proven to be an exceptional anomaly, I am willing to offer a promotional discount. I will accept your current balance of 75,000 Fragments as payment in full."
Mammon tapped the holographic contract. A massive, glowing pink [PAY NOW] button appeared in front of Yuto.
"Master, don't!" Shion screamed, fluttering frantically behind Ayase. "It's a trap! If you hit pay, your 1.50% compound interest resets! The Vault's localized gravity will instantly vanish! Mammon is an Admin—if you lose your offline mass, he'll just delete us all with a single keystroke!"
"I know," Yuto whispered.
He took a step forward. The glass floor groaned. He raised his glowing, violently red right hand. The 30% Vault Pressure was screaming against his skeleton, begging him to release the tension.
He looked at the [PAY NOW] button. Then he looked at Mammon.
"I don't pay retail," Yuto said.
Yuto didn't press the button. Instead, he reached into his inventory with his left hand and pulled out the [VIP Vault Ledger] he had looted from the Floor Manager in the lobby.
"What are you doing?" Mammon's smile faltered slightly.
"You said she was collateral," Yuto grunted, his eyes blazing with a terrifying, bloodshot mania. "According to the Bank's own Ledger, collateral isn't legally owned by the Bank until the account is formally liquidated. She's in escrow."
Yuto didn't read the Ledger. He crushed the glowing digital book in his left hand, forcefully absorbing the Bank's master accounting code directly into his Vault.
[System Warning: Host is forcefully assimilating the Central Server Ledger!] [Action: Locating Target Escrow Account: RIN_KUROSAWA.]
"Wait," Mammon commanded, his golden eyes widening in sudden, algorithmic panic. "You cannot access escrow without admin privileges! That is a closed loop!"
"I'm not accessing it," Yuto roared, the Stigma on his hand erupting into a blinding crimson pillar of light. "I'm foreclosing on your entire branch!"
Yuto lunged past the desk, ignoring the CEO entirely. He reached his bare, burning right hand directly into the red Admin prism.
[System Error! Host is attempting to Vault a Hostage Situation!]
Yuto didn't buy Rin's freedom. He forcefully dragged the entire red prism, the escrow account, and his sister's digital soul directly into his own offline Vault, merging her dormant code with his hoarded mass.
"He stole the hostage!" Shion shrieked, her jaw hitting the floor. "He literally stole the hostage so he wouldn't have to pay the ransom!"